Robin vs The Pied Piper: Part One
by DrPraetorious
Summary: After the events of War Games and Identity Crisis, Tim Drake is dealing with life in Bludhaven and trying to survive in a new school. Today isn't going to be just another day of school, though... Part 1 completed. To be Continued!
1. A New Friend

The clamor of rowdy teenagers could be heard even as the large yellow bus approached. Tim looked up from the ground, took his hand out of his pocket, readjusted the strap of his backpack on his right shoulder, and let out a long sigh.

_Another day of expanding my horizons,_ he thought.

The crowd of students that shared Tim's bus stop, and which Tim was standing a conspicuous distance away from, moved towards the curb. The bus' air brakes let out a sharp hiss, and the door swung open. Tim took his place at the end of the "line." When he stepped up into the bus, a wadded piece of notebook paper struck him right between the eyes.

Tim didn't blush or look around embarrassed. He just did his best to ignore the giggling and made his way towards his seat.

_I can't believe I have to go to school,_ he thought as his frown deepened. For the past few weeks, Tim Drake had done his best not to feel sorry for himself, but it was growing increasingly difficult. As he sat down alone in the wide seat, he pulled his legs up and rested them on the seat in front of him. _My dad is... gone, my fake guardian just got busted by Bruce, and I'm still stuck going to this new school in a new city where everybody thinks I'm a snob... AND I have to ride the school bus._

The bus stopped again and more teenagers piled onboard. A large boy with a football jacket sat down next to Tim. The jock's weight lifted Tim up slightly and the wind wafted the football player's smell into Tim's nose. Tim's nose crinkled at the overwhelming amount of musk in the boy's cologne, and he buried his face into his backpack. He spottted his walkman and thought about putting in his earphones to block out his surroundings, and then thought better of it when he remembered what CD was in his player.

"Hey, Drake," the jock said. Racking his brain, Tim seemed to remember his name was Duncan.

"Yeah, Duncan?" Tim replied.

"How come you never talk to anybody?"

Several answers came to Tim's mind. He already had a rap for being condescending (thanks to his less-than-graciously received introduction speech), so he chose his words carefully. "I guess I just don't have anything to say worth saying," he said.

"That ain't what I hear," Duncan contined. "I heard that you think you're better than everybody else."

Tim knew better than to respond. Duncan was simply trying to bait him into an argument. It wasn't going to work.

When Tim didn't reply, an aggravated Duncan reached back his hand and smacked it across the top of Tim's head. Tim watched the blow coming like it was in slow motion. Every inch that Duncan's arm traveled, Tim's mind told him where he could hit or grab to stop the blow. Off the top of his head, he thought up six different ways to break his arm, using just one hand. Still, he let the blow strike home.

It wasn't a kick to the face. As Robin, Tim had definitely felt worse. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Tim looked up at Duncan with fire in his eyes, staring the larger teenager down with his best Batman impersonation.

Duncan looked shocked for a second, genuinely startled... And then he began to laugh.

"Oooh, Drake," Duncan said. "I'm shakin' in my boots."

The bus came to a stop and all of the students stood up. They'd arrived at their destination.

Tim stood, but waited until last to exit the bus. As the bus grew quiet, he heard on the radio, "...state of emergency. I repeat, all schools..."

And then he was off of the bus and on the sidewalk. He turned, a curious expression on his face, but the driver had already shut the door and was starting to pull away.

His pent up anger was replaced with a flood of concern, but his thoughts were soon shattered as the school bell rang out. "Great..." Tim said out loud. _Just what I need. Another tardy._

Throwing his backpack over his shoulder, he raced inside the school along with the other students and headed for his locker.

As soon as Tim stepped inside the fluorescent dyed hall his brow creased with concern. Something was wrong. There was a general air of panic. Peering down the hallway, he saw adults shepherding annoyed students toward the cafeteria.

It didn't take the world's greatest detective to guess that the message he'd heard on the radio was somehow related to the current exodus. Falling into line, Tim suddenly wished for about the fiftieth time that he'd simply stayed in bed. If he was at home, he thought, at least he'd have access to his Robin costume. Maybe then, he'd even be able to help somehow. Here, he couldn't help feeling like a disappointing "super hero". In fact, he deep inside his stomach, he felt like something of a sitting duck. If someone had planted a bomb, there might be something he could do...

_No need worrying yet,_ he told himself. _What I need now is more information. For that, I'll just need to cooperate and keep my ears open for a bit._

When he entered the cafeteria, he discovered that might be more difficult that he'd anticipated. The cacophony of the entire school gathered in room was practically deafening. The room was three-fourths full, with students standing in circles of friends and cliques. Here and there, students traded pushes, an especially loud jolt of laughter would rise above the crowd. In short, the room was in chaos.

Tim immediately searched out the authority... The teachers. They were gathered against the wall, standing in front of the stage, and they looked just as confused as everyone else, though there was something present on each of their older, lined faces that Tim immediately recognized and that wasn't found on the students'--Fear.

With a determined look on his face, Tim stepped towards the assembled teachers, hoping to move close enough to overhear their frantic conversation.

In his single-minded pursuit, he almost failed to realize that someone was calling out his name.

"Tim!"

He turned to look over his shoulder, surprised that someone was seeking him out. When he turned, his shock dissipated, but the worry deep in his stomach only intensified. Every moment he was distracted was another he was useless, and Robin wasn't used to being useless.

The familiar frame and face stepped gracefully around a crowd of obnoxiously loud boys. Her pale blue eyes shot them a quick, deeply annoyed glance, before fixing again on Tim's.

_Jen,_ Tim thought. _Jennifer Saunders. Ex-gymnast. New student._

Jen had arrived at this school in Bludhaven only days before Tim. As an olympic-level gymnast in training, she had been tutored and home-schooled for most of her life. One day in training, Jen had severely damaged her right ankle. The doctors said her chances of being an Olympic-level gymnast were practically non-existant. Her parents, choosing to side with the doctors, had cancelled Jen's training and enrolled her into public school--presumably to give Jen the chance to live a "normal" teenage life.

Jen, however, was still holding out hope for a complete recovery, and was still exercising regularly and pushing herself far too hard, as could be seen from her muscular build. She oozed annoyance. It was obvious to everyone in the school that Jen had no desire to be in public school. She was also slightly spoiled and arrogant.

Tim always kept to himself. Everything he knew about Jen was things he'd overheard other students saying, or even heard Jen relate to other students. Jen had only begun showing Tim any attention after he'd been forced to give an oral report in front of a class they shared. Tim had chosen to speak on forensic science and evidence gathering... something he knew more about than most forensic scientists.

Tim could only guess that after that, Jen deemed him worthy of her attention, as she had approached him and started a conversation the day after. He was still trying to decide if that was a good thing or not. He was leaning towards "not."

"Hey," she said as she got within a reasonable distance. "What's going on?"

Tim didn't mind Jen's straight-to-business approach. He was used to being around people who didn't waste words.

"I don't know," Tim said. "I was just going to see if I could figure it out. Have you heard anything?"

"Just what the other kids are saying," Jen replied. "Some of them say it's a bomb threat. I heard one kid say they heard there was something bad going down at one of the other schools. Maybe a terrorist." Jen pursed her lips. "I think they're full of crap."

Tim nodded. "Stay here. I'll see what I can find out."

As he turned and walked away, Jen's face stayed in his mind. Her eyes were definitely her most striking feature. Besides their color, they were also large and slightly wide-set. With her button-nose, light skin, and straight, black hair, Jen's wasn't a face one soon forgot.

As he got closer to the teachers, there were less students to hide behind, and Tim began to concentrate on the task at hand. He moved close to a group of students with their backs to a couple of older female teachers who were chatting away. He stayed far enough away from the students to not alert them to his "sidling" and close enough so that it might have seemed to onlookers that he was part of their conversation.

Turning his ear slightly towards the teachers, he did his best to tune into their conversation. With some concentration, he focused in...

"--st awful. They say that the school has been completely surrounded by police, but no one has moved in as of yet."

The other teacher continued, "I heard that the screaming could be heard for blocks, and then it stopped all at once. And there's been nothing but silence from the school since."

Suddenly a younger voice cut in, closer and directed towards Tim. "Hey, you! What are you doing? Get out of here!"

One of the students had noticed Tim's close proximity, and they were running him off. Without a word, Tim disappeared back into the large crowd of students.

As he ducked around students, Tim's mind raced, trying to make sense of the fraction of the conversation he heard.

Suddenly, a hand gripped his elbow. "So? What did you find out?"

Tim faced Jen with concern written all over his face. "Nothing much. You were right. Something is going on at one of the other schools. It sounded pretty serious."

Jen's brow furled, though Tim couldn't decide whether it was out of concern or irritation. She opened her mouth to say something, but Tim cut her off.

"Look, the principal is going to say something."

Jen turned and crossed her arms. "Oh. Great. Now everything will be explained," she whispered.

Tim glanced at her and his lip stretched into a slight grin. It was indeed unlikely that the principal would share any kind of useful information.

Still, a little bit was better than nothing. As the bald man in suit pants two sizes too small cleared his throat, Tim tuned out the buzz around him and focused on every word.

"Attention, students. Attention," the principal said. "There has been a slight emergency at one of our neighboring schools. All that we know at the moment is that a state of emergency has been issued to all of the schools in the area, and that we've been instructed to implement a code yellow."

"As you know from the drills, that means we will be locked inside the auditorium until we receive the all-clear signal."

At a familiar sound, Tim turned his head and watched as a couple of the teachers began spreading duct tape over the cracks in the doorway. His eyes flitted to the other side of the room, where they were placing plastic over the taped-up door.

_Both exits blocked._ Tim thought to himself. Being trapped inside made the tightness in his stomach swell. _I guess that means Robin won't be going to help._

The principal finished speaking, offering words of comfort for the student body. Nothing of any interest to Tim. As the principal walked from the stage, Tim thought to himself _I guess I'll just find a place to sit and wait it out._

He made his way over to long section of the wall where noone was standing near and moved to sit down on the floor when he noticed that Jen had followed. He paused for a second, and then finished sitting. He leaned his head back on the cold, brick wall. Jen was standing in front of him, her arms still crossed on her chest.

There was a moment of silence, with Tim looking up at Jen and her looking back, obviously waiting for something.

"Uh," Tim said, finally. "You wanna sit down?"

"Sure," she replied.

Tim watched as Jen sat down and placed her backpack under her bent knees, just as he had done. Her purple bookbag was brand new--the color still crisp, without a hint of dust, even on the bottom.

Tim's eyes found Jen's, though she was staring at the floor, and narrowed as he realized just how uncomfortable and alienated she must feel.

"It's not polite to stare," Jen said.

"Huh?" Tim said, realizing that, in his thoughts, he'd failed to realize that Jen was now looking directly into his face. He felt himself blush, and he turned to stare at his backpack, while he fiddled with the straps. "Sorry," he continued. "I was just wondering why you'd want to come sit with me."

He raised his head and nodded towards the populace of the school. "I'm not exactly Mr. Popular."

"Well, if you hadn't noticed," Jen replied. "I'm not exactly winning any contests myself."

"I don't know why," Tim said, grinning slightly at her sarcastic tone. "It seems to me like you could fit in if you tried a little bit."

"I guess I could," Jen said. "But I'm not planning on staying long." There was a moment of silence between the pair. Tim guessed that Jen didn't know what she was referring to, but he was fairly certain they both knew she wasn't being honest to him or herself. Jen broke the silence first. "The same could be said for you. So why don't you try to make some friends?"

Tim chuckled. "Touche."

He took a deep breath. He swallowed back a tear as the memories of the past few weeks rushed through his mind. He was caught off guard by the strength of the emotions. He'd assumed he was past the worst. _Apparently not,_ he thought.

He started to speak, but had to clear his throat. "I just haven't been feeling very social." He stared harder at his backpack and then heard himself say, "I'm not exactly like everybody else."

If Tim was a more dramatic person, he would have slapped himself in the forehead or grabbed his mouth. Instead, he froze.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jen roll her eyes.

Her lack of compassion stung, but Tim felt a wave of relief wash over him. As long as she felt Tim was a regular teenager with regular issues, albeit familiar and cliched, he was happy. Bruce had always done his best to teach Tim teenage psychology. Self-doubt and feelings of loneliness, isolation, and the like were all extremely common. Tim knew this and had prepared himself, as Bruce had wanted. _Still, being an orphan, a nerd, the new kid in town, OH and a superhero on the side, _Tim thought, _I don't know anybody who wouldn't feel a little--alone in a crowd._

There was silence between Jen and Tim once again. The weight of the embarrassment of his last comment forced Tim to break the ice. "So, why me?" he asked.

"What?" Jen said. "What do you mean?"

"If you're not staying long and not looking to make any friends, why do you want to sit over here with me? There's plenty of empty wall space."

Jen looked at Tim for a moment with a confused and then an angry expression. "Geez, you ARE a piece of work. If you wanna be alone so bad, you can kiss my..." Jen started to get up.

Tim grabbed her elbow and held her back. "No, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

Jen froze for a moment, and then lowered herself back onto the hard, wooden floor, pulling her arm free of Tim's grip as she did so.

"Because you seemed like you might have half a brain, unlike every other person I've run into in this school," Jen said finally. She shot Tim a mean glance. He noticed her clenched jaw muscles. "But maybe I was wrong."

It occurred to Tim that he might have been better off if he'd simply let her walk away. After all, what did it matter what she thought of him? Or anyone else at the school, for that matter?

But Tim knew himself better than that. Batman didn't care what people thought of his alter ego, and Tim wasn't Bruce.

"I'm sorry," Tim repeated. "Look, let's just start over." He held out his hand to offer a handshake. "I'm Tim. Tim Drake."

Tim could tell she thought the gesture was hokey. She gave him a slight shake. Her face twisted into confusion as she felt the callouses on his hand. Tim played it off with as charming a smile as he could muster. Swinging on a thin wire through the city wasn't easy on hands, no matter how thick the gloves one wears, and he certainly didn't want to try and explain that to his new friend. Jen smiled back and gave into the moment. "Jennifer... Jen," she said.

"So..." Jen said, looking down at the ground. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

Tim turned his head slowly, trying to determine if she was serious or not. She turned her head, too, and looked deeply into Tim's eyes. Her fear and hope and everything else behind the question were all shimmering behind her pale eyes, and Tim found himself without words.

"Uh..." he stammered. That wasn't a question he was prepared for. Especially not at this moment, not today. Would he ever be again? Stephanie had meant everything to Tim. Did that happen twice?

Tim struggled for words, but nothing came. He wished for all the world that something would happen. Something would save him from this moment.

Suddenly, a popping sound echoed through the auditorium from the stage. Tim's head whirled at the sound. A form started to appear from a large cloud of smoke.

As he raised to his feet, Tim thought to himself that one of these days he would learn to be careful what he wished for.

With the sudden appearance of the cloud of smoke, the auditorium erupted into chaos.

Tim stood close to the wall, ignoring the carnage around him. Students crowded to the back of the room and rushed the doors, which were securely latched.

As the cloud began to dissipate, Tim squinted and stepped forward, intent on seeing who would appear. Jen grabbed his arm. "What do you think you're doing?" she yelled over the cacophony.

Then a blaring, ear-piercing sound erupted into the air. Tim grabbed his ears, and bent over in pain. There were shouts of pain, and then the room fell silent.

Tim raised his eyes to see a man standing in the center of the stage. He wore a cloak that covered his body made up of patches of every color imaginable. In his hand, he held what looked like a flute or some kind of musical instrument.

"There," the stranger said. "That's much better."

_A flute? And a cloak of every color?_ Tim thought to himself.

"The Pied Piper..." he muttered under his breath, suddenly remembering the folk tale. _But could that be right?_ he wondered. There were already a couple of guys who called themselves the Pied Piper. One of them had befriended Flash, and Tim couldn't even remember the last time he'd heard of the other one. Neither of those guys could teleport, though, and this guy didn't look anything like them.

_Must be a new guy,_ Tim decided. _Or I've read this all completely wrong._

"What fun, what fun!" the Piper exclaimed from onstage. He skipped towards the front of the stage. "Look at all of them!"

It was pretty apparent to Tim that the strange man was talking to himself. Tim went to move forward again, but Jen's hand was still gripped onto his arm with white-knuckled intensity.

"Jen, you have to let go, I have to..."

Tim looked back toward the stage. The Piper was moving his flute to his lips. "Oh no," Tim said. "Cover your ears!" he yelled as loud as he could. "Now! Everybody! Cover your ears!"

He dropped his bag, an idea springing into his mind. He shoved his earphones into his ears as hard as he could and flipped on his CD player. He pressed the play button and focused his attention on the stage. The Piper drew a breath. Tim held his hands to his ears, fearing the worst.


	2. The Music Starts

A strange music filled the air. Tim felt his mind swim, and the world started going fuzzy around him. He fought the disorienting effect as hard as he could, but he knew he was losing. _No._ Tim thought. _I can't let this happen!_ Suddenly the world snapped back into focus. He realized the sounds of his Enya CD were playing loudly into his ears, covering the Piper's music almost entirely.

_Saved by the smooth songs of Enya._ Tim thought with a slight grin._ Laugh it up, Conner._

Tim quickly wormed the backpack straps onto his shoulders, careful not to dislodge the ear phones from his ears. All around him, the students were standing like statues, all of their attention focused entirely on the stage. Tim turned and watched the Piper. He was weaving slightly, and his fingers danced almost faster than the eye could follow up and down his strange looking flute.

Then, in an eerie unison, all of the students turned to face the teachers, still grouped in front of the stage and at the front of the auditorium for the most part. For the first time, Tim noticed that the adults seemed to be unaffected by the Piper's music.

Tim turned around to look at Jen, but she, too, was staring at the nearest teacher. Her face was expressionless, but there was an odd intensity to her gaze. It sent a shiver down Tim's spine. "Jen!" he whispered, not wanting to draw attention to himself from the Piper. "Snap out of it!" He took her shoulders and shook them. She didn't even look in his direction. He cupped his hands over her ears tightly and tried to block out as much as the music as he possibly could. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter. She shook her head as if coming out of a dream.

"What… What happened?" she said. "What are you doing?" At least, that's what it looked to Tim like she said. She grabbed Tim's hands and started trying to pry them from her ears. Tim shook his head vigorously, and then took her hands and placed them over her ears, pushing them hard to her head. He mouthed, "Don't let go."

Without warning, the student body started moving. Like a flock of birds or a school of fish, they moved as if they were all part of one body. As they approached the teachers, however, they started splitting into gangs. Tim watched these things, realizing that there was no way he would be able to snap all of the students out of their "spell" without getting noticed by the Piper and that there was a very good chance that Jen would join them as soon as he released his hold on her ears. On top of all that, beneath all of his concerns, he knew that acting at all in public was putting his persona as Robin on the line, as well as that of Batman and the others.

A scream rang out, loud enough for Tim to hear it even over his blaring headset. The students were attacking the teachers.

The deliberation was over. Tim Drake didn't hide behind Robin's mask when people's lives were in danger. Whatever the consequences, he knew that he had to help. He again mouthed to Jen, whose face had turned as white as a sheet, "Stay back," he said. She shook her head "No," but Tim was already gone.

As if launched into the air by a catapult, Tim leapt toward the stage. He knew he couldn't make it, but he jumped as far as he could. He landed on top of several students, dropping them to the ground. The students around him didn't even react to his presence. _I need to take these students down as quickly and painlessly as possible._ Tim thought. _As much as these people don't like me, it isn't their fault they're acting like this._

The real solution, Tim realized, was taking down the man on the stage. Once that happened, hopefully the teenagers would return to normal. As the teachers screams of panic began to echo through the auditorium, Tim remembered what he'd overheard the teachers talking about earlier. He also remembered what they'd said about the screaming stopping suddenly and the terrible silence afterwards, and a chill ran down his back.

He decided then and there that the first order of duty was to get the teachers to safety. Then he could worry about the Piper.

The students were easy targets at first. Their attention fully focused on the adults in the room, Tim would drop student after student with as non-violent moves as he could. A chop to the neck here, a kick to the back of the knee there. Before long, however, the students began turning their attention to him. As Tim tried to pry his shoulder through a pair of students to reach one of the felled teachers, he felt a hand grasp his wrist. Then another hand grabbed his arm. In a matter of seconds, he was being held by a half-dozen students.

Tim knew that yelling was useless. They wouldn't hear what he said. If he was going to save the teachers, he was going to have to hurt a few students. _I hope you don't remember this tomorrow,_ Tim thought. With a swift pull, he yanked his right arm free. He boxed the largest boys' ear, and kicked a tall boy in the chest, sending him reeling. With both arms free, he grabbed another boys' arm with both hands and pulled him around in front of himself, using him as a human shield to knock back the students surrounding him.

With an instant of breathing room, Tim leapt into the air and landed next to a pair of teachers who were cowering in fear. He sent a cheerleader reeling with a punch to the face, and followed his punch with an elbow to a snot-nosed bespectacled boy's throat.

Arms and legs worked in perfect symphony, sending students reeling and clearing an ever larger circle around the teachers. "Gather the teachers together!" Tim yelled as he fought. Chancing a glance towards the stage, Tim saw the Piper, continuing to play and dance as if nothing was wrong. He could have sworn the strange man's lips were curled into a smile around his flute. _Sicko,_ Tim thought.

Suddenly, the students stopped fighting. They all stood like statues, once again. Tim stepped back, still crouched in a fighting stance, and did his best to assess the situation. He couldn't hear what the teachers were saying. His eyes darted across the walls, and an idea struck him. "Get into the locker room," he yelled and pointed towards the men's locker room that was on the right side of the stage. The door could be locked from the inside, and none of the students would have a key. He could keep the teachers safe in there. The teachers hesitated, still frightened. "Move!"

He started pushing the elderly and middle-aged men and women, now battered and bruised by the brutal attack at the students' hands, towards the locker room. Once again, a hand grabbed Tim's shoulder from behind. Tim turned as quick as lightning, swinging his fist as he turned. He stopped his hand just before is smacked into Jen's face. She ducked (though it would have been too late) and screamed.

"Jen?" Tim said, yelling because he was still wearing the headphones. "Are you okay?" He looked around. The rest of the students were still standing like statues. Then, Tim noticed the bits of cloth sticking out of Jen's ears. _Good girl,_ Tim thought. "C'mon!" he yelled. He took Jen's wrist and pulled her inside the locker room, and slammed the door behind them.


	3. The Strike Back

Tim turned the lock on the knob and the deadbolt above it and heaved a sigh of relief, but he knew that he was far from out of the woods. The students were still out there, in danger, and he had to take down the Piper somehow… _Where's the JLA when you need them? _He carefully removed the headphones from his ears. The music was blocked by the thick wooden door.

"How did you do that?"

Tim turned, and Jen was staring at him, rubbing her wrist. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Later," Tim replied. He stepped around her and quickly took inventory of their situation. The teachers all seemed to be in stable enough condition. Several of the women were crying. It looked as if the principal had taken the worst beating. He was laying down on a bench. His secretary was kneeling next to him. She'd found a piece of cloth from somewhere and was dabbing the blood from his face.

The gym teacher, a stout woman with short hair and a constant sneer on her face, approached Tim. He noticed that she didn't seem to be injured. His eyes darted to her knuckles, which were red and bleeding. It seemed he hadn't been the only one fighting the students.

"We need to get back out there and take down that clown," the gym teacher said.

"It's the Pied Piper," an older, bespectacled man said. Tim assumed he was probably an English teacher. "Isn't it?"

"I don't care if it's Little Bo Peep or Doomsday, we gotta do somethin'!" the gym teacher exclaimed. "Those kids are still out there!"

"Does anyone have a cell phone?" another teacher asked. "Maybe we can wait for the police…"

"That's a good idea," Tim spoke up. "Call the police. I'm going back out there. Brace the door with something after I leave."

"Tim!" Jen exclaimed. She grabbed his arm.

"Wait a second, young man," the secretary spoke up. "We can't let you go back out there!"

Tim knew what Batman would have said. _You're welcome to try and stop me._ He was tempted, but he thought reason might worth a shot. "Whatever is going on, I have to try and stop the Piper. His attack seemed centered on the younger people. Maybe I can sneak up on him. There are hundreds of students out there. We have to try something, and I have a better chance than any of you."

Jen's grip only tightened on Tim's arm. "I-I'm coming, too."

"No," Tim began to protest.

"No! Listen to me. I won't take no for an answer! I want to help."

Tim sighed. He didn't have any more time to argue. "Stay behind me," he said.

He headed for the door. He put his ear against the wood. He hadn't heard any kind of pounding on the door or fiddling with the locks. He could vaguely hear the eerie music from the other side of the door, though. "You'll need to block your ears again," Tim said to Jen. She nodded and stuck her makeshift plugs into her ears as Tim replaced the headphones. He slowly turned the locks, as quietly as he could. One of the male teachers approached the door, ready to lock it behind them as soon as they were outside.

Jen crowded close to Tim's back. He could tell she was shivering. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, knowing that she wouldn't hear anything he said. Her fear confirmed his plan. He was going to open the door and then shut it again before she could follow him. It was the safest thing for both of them that she not follow.

Tim felt himself become Robin. Robin was more than just a costume. Somewhat like Batman, Tim changed when he became Robin. A determined and hard expression came over his face. He crouched slightly, ready to spring.

His hand grabbed the cool doorknob. For an instant, Tim contemplated why it suddenly seemed odd that his hand wasn't gloved. Banishing the thought, he opened the door just wide enough for him to step out. What he saw, though, stopped him in his tracks.

He stood, his mouth gaping. Jen was pushing him from behind. The door fell all the way open as Tim's hand fell away from it. Jen grabbed his shoulder as she suddenly saw what had stopped him.

As they watched, the last student in the auditorium disappeared through a red glowing "hole" spinning a few feet in front of the stage.


	4. The End?

"Oh, my God," Jen said, pulling her face close to Tim's ear.

Immediately, Tim's finger shot to his lips as he turned his head slightly, indicating the need for complete silence. It was too late. Either the movement of the door or Jen's statement had caught the Piper's attention. He dropped his pipe from his lips and a gleeful grin spread across his face as it turned slowly. Frenzied eyes stared deep into Tim's.

Tim squinted and stepped forward slowly. Jen's hand clamped down on his shoulder, trying to hold him back. _Or maybe she's just frozen._ Tim didn't look behind him to check. He simply continued moving forward. To her credit, Jen reluctantly followed, though her hand didn't move from his shoulder.

"Bring them back, Piper," Robin said, though he was still dressed as Tim Drake. He knew he was speaking too loudly. The music was still playing in his headphones and he'd rather talk loud than risk being mind-controlled by the Piper.

The Pied Piper appeared to laugh. He brought his pipe to his lips. His fingers danced quickly across the notches, and his feet lifted swiftly from the stage and landed a few feet in front of Tim. Behind him, he heard the door slam shut. Someone inside had mustered the courage to close it. _Good,_ Tim thought.

The Piper spoke, but Tim couldn't hear what was said. His lip-reading skills told him, "You're a very clever boy, but lets lose those pesky earmuffs, shall we?"

Tim's eyes widened, and he clutched for the headphones. He was holding them tightly when the Piper began to play. An unseen and powerful hand pulled the electronics from his ears. Clutching the cord, Tim watched as the walkman floated in air, pulling towards the Piper. Releasing his right hand from the cord, he grabbed the player and tried to pull it back. There was a sharp jerk, which nearly sent Tim reeling forwards. The slippery player flew out of his hand, followed by the headphones. The device rocketed towards the colorfully-dressed man and, right before it seemed it would smack him right in the head, the player dropped to the ground and smashed into a dozen pieces.

"That's much better," the Piper said. "I hate competition."

"Where did you take the students? What have you done with them?"

"So many questions… An intelligent, inquisitive mind, and a skilled fighter," the Piper was obviously speaking aloud to himself. Robin took another step forward but, after the display of power he'd just seen, was wary of making any hasty movements.

The Piper brought his pipe to his lips. Tim's hands were immediately at his ears, digging his palms as far into his ear as he could. It didn't matter. His feet were lifted from the ground and held aloft, his arms and legs spread wide. Even with his ears covered, he heard Jen scream as she, too, was lifted. Slowly, she floated forward, closer to the Piper.

"No!" Tim cried helplessly. He struggled against the invisible hands, but try as he might, he couldn't bend his arms or legs. The Piper dropped the pipe from his lips, but Tim was still floating. He uncovered his ears. "If you hurt…!"

"Save the pointless threats," the Piper said. "I was just taking a closer look at your friend."

Jen started turning slowly in front of the Piper, and he looked her up and down as if she were a cut of meat he was considering purchasing. "Put me down!" Jen shouted. "You little sicko!"

"Spirited," the Piper said to himself, ignoring the young lady's protests, "but attractive. And very fit. Yes, a nice find, indeed."

Suddenly, and unceremoniously, Tim fell to the ground. He landed in a kneel.

"Yes, these two shall do nicely. How brilliant I am," the Piper said. As if in slow motion, Tim watched as, yet again, the Piper started to lift the pipe to his puckered mouth. Sensing his last chance, Tim charged. Running as fast as he could, he leapt, clawing for the wooden flute in the thin man's hands. He didn't make it.

There was a blinding flash of light, and a stomach-lurching fall through spirals of colors and shapes and space and time, and then there was darkness…

_**Author's note: It's embarrassing that it took me so long to write this. I've been focusing on my other stories, so this one has taken the back seat. This is just the beginning to the story. It should be continued eventually. Let's just say things are going to be very different for Tim whenever he wakes up.**_

_**If you've read A Rude Awakening, you probably already know that I enjoy taking characters out of their element. I hope you'll stick around for Robin vs. The Pied Piper: Part Two!**_


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